So you may remember me asking about close up filters. I ordered a nikon 4t from jacobsdigital and had lots of problems with them , so i cancelled that order. As the nikon 4t is actually discontinued it is really hard to get hold of and i was getting no luck . Therefore on everyones advise here (thank you ) i decided to get the canon equivilant the canon 500d . It came today and here it is...

It came in a very nice plastic case. (Thx canon )

Here it is on my nikon 55-200mm VR lens.

The following shots i took today with the Canon 500d on my nikon 55-200mm VR lens....

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

And finally here is my subject shot with my nikon 18-55mm VR. (incase you wondered what it was)

My Grandads old pipes.

So, what do you think of the quality? None of these images taken with the 500d have been cropped and no pp applied. Also i would love to get some input on the shots i have taken. What do you think? How could i make them better? Which one is your fav. if any?

(I would have taken some beautiful flowers but unfortunatly it was raining and getting dark when i got home with it today. )

Yeah it is more difficult than i thought it would be, that said i love this thing and getting more and more use to it. I do not just use the manual focus i get it so its sort of sharp with the manual focus then move forward and backawards very very carefully until the rangefinder is in the middle and i get a green confirmation dot. I can see how some people could find it anoying to do this but i enjoy doing it. Mainly because it makes me take my time a little more and compose shots more carefully. The one problem i have found is if you are taking flowers for instance and your in super close (like the shots above) then a breeze moves the flower you have to completely readjust and compose the shot again which can be anoying.

Here is another flower shot i took on the same day as the last images...

Hey Mr Barks, some really good looking shots out there, the image quality of the 500d sure is impressive. I've also just made a post with some of the Raynox 250 pics for comparison if you're interested.

Your shots are quite interesting. The image of the 'weed' as you call it didn't seem as sharp or close in your photo. However this may have more to do with what lens you had the raynox on. What was it? The vignetting looked pritty bad i hope this is only an effect on the close up shots. Unfortunatley my 50mm prime has not turned up yet, (jessops taking the p abit) so i cannot comment on it yet in terms of the vignetting but im sure it will be fine and when it finally turns up i will let you know. What is your opinion of the two shots compared?

I was actually using the 18-135mm kitlens of the D80. The Raynox lenses have a really shallow dof which makes it pretty hard to get a fully focused image of a subject in 3d dimension. The vignetting actually gets better as you zoom in, could be the length of the kitlens that causes the vignetting to get really bad. We tried the lens out on a canon 400d (cant remember the lens used) but there was no vignetting there so it could be more of the diameter of the lens causing the vignetting.

Your shots look much sharper than mine. The canon 500d is to my knowledge made specifically for canon lenses whereas the Raynox is sort of a one size fits all for most brands so that might be one of the reasons for your shots being sharper and all. However for the price the Raynox actually does a pretty good job especially in the hands of someone experienced.

Lahlahsr has some shots that might actually be better for comparison. Heres a link, just scroll down a bit to see his shots.

Yeah sounds like it is the diameter of the lens which is causing the vignetting. The canon 500d comes in different sizes mines 52mm but you can get 72mm or whatever. It is actually designed for use on canon and nikon lenses (from what i have been told). I agree that lahlahsr images are very sharp. Its a shame you cannot use it effectively without the vignetting on your kit lens. How much did your Raynox cost? The 500d wasn't that much especially if you think how much dedicated macro lenses are.

Yea dedicated lenses just cost way too much, at least for me at the moment. But so far i'm actually quite satisfied with the "add on" lenses. I guess cropping the images will help to remove the vignetting but yeah i'd rather not have to crop.

I got my Raynox for around $40 Australian dollars off ebay but i've heard some people getting thme for around $30 plus Australian.

Ah thats not to bad then. $40 for something that sharp is a bargain even if there is vignetting. The 500d cost me £50 but im sure it will be cheaper in comparison over there as in England you get ripped off.